The event brings together the most inspiring personalities in space to shed light on their discoveries, experiences and hopes to inspire the UAE youth and community
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and general supervisor of all projects of the Centre and its strategic and development plans, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) is launching the first edition of “Project Space” Forum on the 24th & 25th January 2017 at Dubai World Trade Centre. As the first of its kind to be held in the region, the event aims to create a platform for young generation interested in science, exploration and innovation in the UAE to help them benefit from the knowledge and experiences of space scientists and experts. These inspirational figures will come from around the world to the UAE to share their discoveries and hopes for an industry that will surely define the future of humanity.
The Forum is to be held under the gracious auspices of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which was highly appreciated by His Excellency Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of MBRSC, who affirmed that the MBRSC team is committed to His Highness’ direction to draw up an ambitious road map for building the capacities of the future generations of Emirati scientists and researchers. This road map will serve as an inspiration for the team and the foundation upon which it will develop educational and raising-awareness initiatives. “The space sector is of strategic importance in terms of shaping the future of science and technology in the UAE and building a knowledge-based, competitive and innovation-focused strong economy,” said Al Shaibani.
He stressed the importance of holding inspiring events, such as Project Space, for the Emirati youth, to serve as science platforms that ensure a promising future for space science and exploration in the UAE. He also emphasized the need to find new ways for human capacities to learn about the most recent developments and experiences of scientists and researchers in order to make a quantum leap in terms of knowledge and space technology.
Commenting on Project Space, Mona Al Qemzi, Assistant Director General, Corporate Support Sector at MBRSC, said: 'We wanted Project Space to be a distinguished platform for UAE students to deepen their knowledge in science and space. This can be accomplished by providing them with an accurate and realistic portrait based on the experiences of the most influential scientists in the world who have extensive experience in the fields of outer space exploration, planetary science and the innovation of space technology, and on the experiences of national cadres with distinctive achievements in the UAE space sector.
'We are absolutely sure that when our youth learn about the experiences of and communicate with leading scientists, they will be inspired and encouraged to embark upon a career path in science, space or engineering, which will help meet the increasing needs of human resources in the space sector,' Al Qemzi added.
Following the opening session at Day One, the event will begin with a panel discussion on the Knowledge Transfer Concept. The MBRSC team members Eng. Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs, Eng. Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of EMM, Eng. Amer Al Sayegh, Senior Director, Space Engineering Department and KhalifaSat Project Manager, Mohammed Al Harmi, Director of the Corporate Development Department, as well as the Korean Partner Satrec Initiative CEO Dr. Byungjin Kim, will share their experiences in this regard.
Later on, Dr Noureddine Melikechi, Dean, Kennedy College of Sciences University of Massachusetts at Lowell, member of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission and member of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission and member of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will be giving a lecture entitled “Looking for Life on Mars and Searching for Cancers on Earth, One Laser Pulse at a Time”. Melikechi is the only Arab scientist participating in the NASA Curiosity rover mission currently exploring the Red Planet. He is a member of the Chemistry Camera (ChemCam) team of the mission. His team is also working on developing a new instrument to be part of NASA's planned Mars 2020 mission. Furthermore, Melikechi’s also developed laser technology that can be used for the early detection of cancer in humans.
Also at day one, Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, will be shedding light on the space sector in the UAE, as well as the strategy put in place to build the capacities of the future generations of Emirati scientists and experts. Also speaking at the Project Space event is Abby Harrison, who is widely known as Astronaut Abby. Aspiring to become a member of the first human crew to land on Mars, Harrison founded “The Mars Generation”, which is a nonprofit organisation that offers programmes to excite and educate students and adults about the importance of human space exploration and STEM education.
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